🧼 Strong Scents

This is your reminder to check your soaps, conditioners and shampoos.

Particularly if it seems too fragrant or the smell sticks to you.

You know when you wash your hands and then smell the soap on your skin hours later?
No natural fragrance is that strong.

Petrochemicals & plastic-like polymers are used to make scents last longer.

Take for example a popular Australian 'Fruit Hair Conditioner'.

The name of the brand contains the word 'Organic', subconsciously implying to you that their products are clean.
The bottle says it's cruelty free, 100% vegan and plant derived.

The packaging says 'plant derived' but notice that according to the list below, only some ingredients are plant-derived.
Plant derived means they extract a substance from a plant and then use significant chemical processing to manipulate it.

The ingredients are as follows:
Water, Cetearyl Alcohol*, Cetrimonium Chloride*, Lecithin*, Macadamia Ternifolia (Macadamia Nut) Seed Oil, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Protein, Panthenol, Phenoxyethanol, Polyquaternium-10*, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Dimethiconol, Citric Acid*, Sodium Benzoate, Fragrance. *Plant Derived.

There's only one way to check how toxic this product is.
Look up each and every single ingredient. There are no shortcuts here.

Initially things look OK... Water, Alcohol, Oil, Protein...

Then you get to a synthetic preservative: Phenoxyethanol.

When you search these types of chemicals, you'll usually get the classic: Only toxic in 'high doses'.

The real question is: how toxic is it in low doses everyday for years?

🤔 Phenoxyethanol is also used in vaccines.

Next: Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethiconol, Dimethicone
Three types of synthetic silicone. Used for smoothness and reducing frizz.

Yep that's right. Not silicon. Silicone. The same chemical you use to seal your kitchen bench 😂

Sodium Benzoate:
An irritating preservative.

Fragrance (undisclosed composition):
What kind of chemicals are commonly used?
Aldehydes -> toxic
Methyl butanoate -> irritant at best
Phthalates -> 'forever chemical' component in plastic that destroys fertility
Styrene -> like polystyrene 😂

Not only are you hurting your skin and absorbing these chemicals... you're also smelling them which means they can enter your blood through the respiratory system.

Check your products, read the label and look the ingredients up.

Learn more: @powerofthepulse